Back to our house we go........

.....and it will never seem the same now that there are four (Oscar included). So, for all of you dying for the reveal of the "juicy details" of Ella's birth, here they are........

Once upon a time, I thought I would awake in the middle of the night with that panic of contractions, Phil and I would rush to the car in our nightclothes and a few hours later the baby would arrive. Well, that sounds like a fairytale for one reason; IT IS! In real life, it played out a bit differently.

First of all, I didn't spontaneously begin to have contractions. As of Monday at my doctor's appointment I was about 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My doctor, the wonderful Dr. Lyon, said that we should probably induce on Tuesday morning. So, bright and early on Tuesday morn, Phil and I headed for the hospital. There I was started on Pitocin at around 7:30 am. I was having contractions, but they weren't intense and I wasn't feeling them. It seemed like things were going to be pretty easy, and then, it happened. I began to feel the contractions. Imagine a pretty bad stomachache where your stomach cramps up and you know something is going to come out whether you like it or not--that is exactly what contractions feel like, in their MILD stage! Around 11:00, Donna and I were just starting to watch the movie Pride and Prejudice when I felt my water break. Go Jane Austen! That's when all hell broke loose and the contractions went from mild to really uncomfortable. The nurse came in and asked me what my pain level was at the time. I said, "10!" It couldn't possibly get any worse than this, I thought. If I only knew what was in store for me in the next few hours.

Well, apparently my membrane had not completely ruptured, so it needed a bit of help from the doc. There was a bit of meconium in the mix, so then I had to get flushed out, which sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Here's the part in the story where my memory is a bit blurry because I started experimenting with some mild drugs to "take the edge off", which actually did not take any edge off, but just made me a bit sleepy. Well, you can't exactly sleep when you still feel like someone's jackhammering your back and punching you in the stomach at the same time. So, needless to say, the mild drugs that I did have were not of any help.

So, as I came closer and closer to realizing what a true 10 is on the pain level scale, I begged for an epidural. "Please, Candy. Go get the aneastesiologist!" For those of you who heard a rumor about me saying no to drugs, it is a lie. I wanted those drugs, but Candy, my L & D nurse, thought otherwise. But, oh, she never said no to me outright. She was very sneaky about it, stalling by claiming she needed to chart some stats and then she would order the drugs. I hated her at the time, but now I appreciate it because by the time I was asking for the drugs, I was only about 2 cm away from pushing. Once my water was broken, it only took about 2 1/2 hours to go from 4 to 10 cm. At 3:00, I was at 10 and ready to push. I really feel for those ladies out there who push for hours on end, because let me tell you, it is exhausting! Luckily, I only had to push for about 50 minutes, then Ella was born at 3:59 pm.

We're all doing well. Phil is an awesome daddy. He took care of the first few diaper changes without a hitch! And this is a guy who thought he would be afraid to hold a newborn! Ella has proven him wrong and she loves it when he holds her. We came home this afternoon and the little bambina is sleeping downstairs. She's a very content baby and we're so glad that she arrived safe and soundly. We wish you all could be here to see her in person! Ciao for now, the mama needs her recovery sleep!